Goods of relatively small size are typically transported using wheeled dollies which are platforms mounted on wheels or castors. Goods are stored in containers that fit into the receptive platform. Upon transportation or temporary storage, the usually boxlike containers are stacked onto dollies whose wheels enable easy handling by hand. The shape and size of the dollies are usually standardized to conform advantageously to industrial container models. While the dollies may be moved about by hand, there is also a need to transport a plurality of dollies at once. Such a need occurs e.g. when loading or unloading a trailer or a lorry. If a trailer is loaded dolly by dolly, the long duration of the operation consumes valuable docking time not to mention inflicted gratuitous vehicle idle time. Also, when transported individually, the dollies require thorough and tedious trussing up to prevent unintended movement within the load space. To tackle these disadvantages, adaptor pallets have been developed.
There is also a need to secure the dollies to the adaptor pallet. A conventional adaptor pallet comprises a base with two outer tracks for receiving the outer wheels of dollies in two parallel files and two adjacent inner tracks for receiving the inner wheels of said dollies. Between both outer and inner tracks, there is a lifting structure elevated from the tracks and connected to them by means of vertical supports. The horizontal lifting structure and its vertical supports form two parallel galleries for receiving the lifting forks of a forklift for elevating the adaptor pallet from the ground.
In order to prevent the dollies from falling off the adaptor pallet, many different securing devices have been developed over. Without such securing devices, the adaptor pallets might not conform to regulations concerning occupational safety. The securing devices may be divided into two main types. The first type is an adaptor pallet having an open loading end, whereby the dollies are secured to the pallet by operating special locking fins or similar locking elements which are toggled between locked and released position by manipulation means which may take the form of a foot-operated lever or a hand-operated handle. A foot-operated lever is proposed for leaving the operator's hand free to manipulate the loaded dolly.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide a simplified adaptor pallet and method for transporting a plurality of dollies without compromising occupational safety.